Travel demand pushes ticket prices, profits higher at Delta

Delta Air Lines is benefiting from strong demand for air travel this summer and the grounding of Boeing Max planes at key rivals to post record revenue and a bigger profit.

The airline is aggressively adding flights and seats, but it is finding more than enough passengers to fill them, leading to even more crowded planes during the peak vacation season.

Five of the 10 busiest days in Delta’s history have occurred in the past month, CEO Ed Bastian said in an interview.

“Demand is going to continue to stay strong,” Bastian said. “Our advance bookings are healthy, and it should be a good third quarter.”

Delta said Thursday that second-quarter profit jumped 39% to $1.44 billion. The results beat Wall Street expectations, and the airline raised its forecast of full-year earnings.

Shares of Delta, the nation’s No. 2 airline by revenue, rose 72 cents to $60.19 in afternoon trading.

Delta passengers flew more than 63 billion miles in the April-through-June quarter, a 6.3% increase over the same period last year and roughly double the growth the airline saw in 2017 and 2018.

The Atlanta-based carrier, which also is the biggest airline operating in Chattanooga, boosted passenger-carrying capacity by a robust 4.7. But average occupancy still crept higher, to 88%. At that level, many peak-hour flights are full, and even those during nights and weekends have far fewer empty seats.

The airline is seeing particular strength among its highest-paying customers. Revenue from business-class and other premium perks jumped 10% from last year’s second quarter, twice as fast as revenue from selling tickets in the main cabin.

Delta also is getting a boost because rivals American Airlines and Southwest Airlines — and to a lesser extent, United Airlines — canceled thousands of flights in the quarter because their Boeing 737 Max planes were grounded after deadly crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia. Delta does not use the plane.